Sewerage Commission-Oroville Region (SC-OR) wastewater treatment plant in Oroville, California, will begin operating on solar energy this month. A 3-acre (1.2 ha) field adjacent to the plant is home to a

520 kW solar power array, installed by Sun Power and Geothermal Energy of San Rafael, that will supply 80% of the plant’s energy... Read more

SierraPine Ltd., a Roseville, California-based company specializing in composite panels, is reformulating and renaming its Medite FR, a Class 1, fire-retardant medium-density fiberboard (MDF) panel. It was formerly manufactured with a polyurea resin matrix adhesive (MDI) rather than conventional formaldyhyde-based resins. The new product,... Read more

Kane Hardwood, a Collins Company, has been awarded the

National Hardwood Lumber Association’s (NHLA) Forest Stewardship Award. Kane was recognized for its achievements in public education, political involvement, private landowner education, forest stewardship, and efficient resource utilization. Kane, which owns and manages over 125,000... Read more

is leaving his position as research consultant for the Green Development Services division of the

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to work for a leading U.K. firm of green consulting engineers and landscape architects,

Battle McCarthy Ltd. After a stint in London, Shepherd will be setting up a U.S. office for that firm... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and The American Institute of Architects (AIA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in October, continuing and expanding their partnership that

promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in the built environment. Details are available from DOE’s Chris Kielich at 202/586-5806.... Read more

The Energy Star™ Commercial Buildings program recognizes buildings that perform in the top 25% of their class in terms of energy use. As part of that program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set up a Web-based tool called

Portfolio Manager. Users enter information from their energy bills into Portfolio Manager, which... Read more

Land surface changes may be as much to blame for

global climate change as greenhouse gases, according to research by Roger Pielke Sr., professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, and his colleagues. The study, published in a recent issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London and released by... Read more

Specialized, energy-intensive lighting techniques can benefit seniors, according to the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Researchers at the LRC developed a set of

lighting principles for older adults and put them to the test at two assisted-living facilities. The results of the study... Read more

Under a September executive order signed by Governor Gary Locke, every Washington state agency must establish

sustainability objectives and prepare biennial sustainability plans. The newly named Sustainability Coordinator and Sustainability Advisory Council will organize the plans around energy and water efficiency and a shift to... Read more

International Forest Products (Interfor) surprised Canadian wilderness advocates in October with the announcement that they would

stop logging the Elaho Valley of British Columbia, about 125 miles (200 km) north of Vancouver. The valley is home to the spotted owl, possibly Canada’s most endangered species. Fewer than 25 breeding pairs... Read more

Ninth International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Hal Levin, Editor. CD-ROM version: $100; 5-volume printed version: $200. Shipping additional. Download an order form:

www.indoorair2002.org.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $1.5 million in grants to 30 entities in 19 states as part of the

Million Solar Roofs Initiative. The new partnerships will combine grant money with private funds to support solar energy through education, the development of financing options and building codes, and construction. Details can be... Read more

A Sunoco gas station in Markham, Ontario has opened

Canada’s first solar car wash. The Canadian government and Suncor Energy Products Inc. are teaming up to convert standard car-wash stations to use solar systems similar to residential solar water heaters. Car-wash stations use an average 69 gallons (260 l) of hot water—roughly the... Read more

executive editor Alex Wilson testified in October before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over all U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) programs. Wilson joined Claire Barnett, founder and director of the Healthy Schools Network, and Lois Gibbs, director of the Center for... Read more

When The American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment first convened, it immediately identified as a top priority the need for information about the environmental impacts of building materials. With funding from the U.S. EPA and the technical expertise of Joel Ann Todd’s Scientific Consulting Group, AIA produced a series of... Read more

Capital E is seeking

case studies documenting specific benefits of green buildings, as part of a contract with California’s Department of General Services and other agencies to analyze the full costs and benefits of green buildings. Documented examples of benefits that are not always recognized, such as enhanced occupant health,... Read more

Software package from the Athena™ Sustainable Materials Institute, PO Box 189, Merrickville, Ontario, K0G 1N0, Canada; 613/269-3795, 613/269-3796 (fax),

www.athenasmi.org Athena EIE software: $390; LCI Database reports: $325; package of both products with one-year interpretive support: $715; educational and multicopy discounts available... Read more

In mid-September, membership of the

U.S. Green Building Council passed the 2,000 mark, up from 950 a year earlier—more than 100% growth!

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which is fitted with 7,000 ft2 (650 m2) of photovoltaic panels. The $600,000 system is expected to generate 66 kilowatts of electricity, offsetting 10 to 15% of the cathedral complex’s energy demand. It is the first of 16 solar systems to be... Read more

The Atlanta International Museum of Art and Design (AIM) is now showing “Ecology, Economy, Equity: The Architecture of

William McDonough + Partners.” The exhibit, open through February 28, features architectural models, text panels, preparatory drawings, site plans, and interactive computer stations describing WM+P projects such as the... Read more